Contained inspiration

With the arrival of spring, my neglected container garden on the deck is calling for a make-over, so I have begun trawling our gardening collection to find a bit of inspiration. What I have found is actually rather a lot of inspiration. Suddenly I have visions of creating a little paradise in the small space outside my french doors. My fingers are now itching to clean out old pots and fill them with fantastic new plantings.

I’m new to small gardens and haven’t had much experience with containers so I’m starting with books like Container Gardening by Numbers, and Cool Containers which give lots of ideas of exactly what to plant. This includes colour schemes, sunny or shady situations and different styles. They also give beginner instructions on exactly how to go about the planting process.

I’m going to stick to decorative plantings I think, although I have been tempted by books like Grow your Own Crops in Pots and Organic Crops in Pots. I might try a few ideas from Grow your Own Herbs in Pots though, because there’s nothing like being able to pop out the kitchen door to pick some fresh herbs when you are cooking.

Browse our fantastic collection of books on container gardening and get gardening.